On days like these, I wonder what it feels like to be fast. I know that fast runners work just as hard as I do, if not harder, and that they push themselves to their limits just like I push myself (sometimes) to mine. But the fact remains that while fast might not be easy, it’s still fast. I wonder what it feels like to be Steve, or Edwin, or Sam. They can look at their schedules and think “hmm, 8 miles, that should take me about an hour.” I look at my schedule and think “hmm, 8 miles, I’ll be doing well if I can finish that in an hour and a half.”
One of the big reasons I haven’t decided to train for another marathon yet is that I remember fall 2004 all too well, and the feeling of doing nothing but work, eat, sleep, and run. And I wonder what it feels like to be fast. See, for a slow runner like me, I remember my long runs taking one hours…two hours…three hours…my longest run, a 22-miler, took 4+ hours.
I’m not complaining, really I’m not. It’s just that I had grand plans to clean my apartment today. But after getting up, eating some lunch, waiting to let the food settle, running, cooling down, showering, and eating again, it’s almost 6:00 and my apartment is just as messy as it was when I got up this morning. Being slow sucks for getting anything else done.
8.3 miles
1:29:50
10:49 min/mile (even with 11/1s ?!)
I ran my 8-miler on the Seabrook trails this afternoon, and passed dozens of people also out enjoying the beautiful weather. I was amazed by the 10:49 pace, enough that I checked my whole route via the Gmap pedometer. That turned up 8.2 miles, with me not following the route super-closely just to save some clicking.
The Garmin did well (yes I got one, see post below) and I liked having it. I haven’t read the owners manual yet, so I just left it on the default screen that showed total time, instantaneous pace, and total distance. The instantaneous pace calculation seemed a little flaky — it jumped around quite a bit, especially under tree cover. But overall I’m impressed. I love gadgets!